De La Cruz control has Reds’ king

By Conrad Clowers

Herald Sports Writer

There’s a reason Elly De La Cruz was the top prospect in minor league in all of baseball. It’s because he can do everything and do it well. He can hit for power, hit for average, run as fast as a gazelle, and has an arm that any pitcher would envy. Cruz is a once in a generation talent. The Reds  know what they have in Cruz and have done a remarkable job building around the Dominican born talent.

Modern day technology has been able to pinpoint how well any player does anything. It can tell you how hard a pitcher throws, how hard a batter swings and hits a ball, and how many mph a player is getting from one base to another. 

When De La Cruz’ bat connects with the ball it connects harder than any players bat hitting a ball in baseball … literally. The 6-5 inch De La Cruz has hit his share of scorchers in the majors since coming up on June 6. De La Cruz hit a ball this season while still in the minors at 118.8 exit velocity. That’s nearly 1 mph harder than the Toronto blue Jays Vladimir Guerrero of the Toronto Blue Jays who hit a ball 117.9 mph. Guerreros ball was the hardest hit ball in all of baseball.

De La Cruz is a large reason as to why the Cincinnati Reds have ascended into first place. The Reds’ third baseman became the first Red to hit for the cycle since Eric Davis. Before being called up to the majors, De La Cruz simply tore triple A pitching up. While with the Louisville Bats, in 38 games the slugger hit .298 with 12 home runs, 36 RBI’s and 11 stolen bases.

Cincinnati knew they had to protect their investment so no other team could get their hands on him. In late November of 2022, Cincinnati added De La Cruz to their 40 man roster. This addition protected him from the Rule 5 Draft.

The MLB All Star game is being played in Seattle. While the budding Reds star has only been up a little more than a month, he will not be playing in the mid-summer classic in 2023. Look for the biggest Reds’ star to hit Cincinnati in decades to play in many All Star games in his career.

The economics of baseball may ultimately hurt the Reds in keeping a talent like De La Cruz. Should he put up monster numbers and be selected to All Star game,  he will inevitably command top dollar. This is where Cincinnati may be living on borrowed time with De La Cruz’ service. 

My advice to Cincinnati Reds fans is to enjoy the spectacle of Elly de La Cruz now. Because once he becomes a free agent and teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Mets and Astros toss $50 million a year contracts at the youngster, you may have to cheer for Elly in another uniform.

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